Role Stress and Emotional Exhaustion Among Health Care Workers

Abstract Background Health care workers are often affected by burnout, resulting in reduced personal well-being and professional functioning. Although emotional exhaustion is considered a core component of burnout, little is known about the dynamics of emotions and their relation to burnout. We used network analysis to investigate the correlation between the density of a negative emotion network, a marker for emotional rigidity in person-specific networks, and burnout severity. Methods Using an ecological momentary assessment design, the intensity of negative emotions of forty-three health care workers and medical students was assessed five times per day (between 6 am and 8 pm) for 17 days. Burnout symptoms were assessed at the end of the study period with the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Multilevel vector autoregressive models were computed to calculate network density of subject-specific temporal networks. The one-sided correlation between network density and burnout severity was assessed. The study protocol and analytic plan were registered prior to the data collection. Results We found a medium-sized correlation between the negative emotion network density and burnout severity at the end of the study period r(45) = .32, 95% CI = .09–1.0, p = .014). Conclusions The strength of the temporal interplay of negative emotions is associated with burnout, highlighting the importance of emotions and emotional exhaustion in reaction to occupational-related distress in health care workers. Moreover, our findings align with previous investigations of emotion network density and impaired psychological functioning, demonstrating the utility of conceptualizing the dynamics of emotions as a network.

Download Full-text

How to survive mistreatment by customers

International Journal of Conflict Management ◽

10.1108/ijcma-11-2016-0089 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 464-482 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Xiaohui Wang ◽

Haibo Wang

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Health Care ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Prolonged Exposure ◽

Positive Relation ◽

Front Line ◽

Content Type ◽

Care Workers ◽

Withdrawal Behavior

Purpose The purpose of the present research is to investigate the mechanisms by which conflict with customers (i.e. customer mistreatment) contributes to employees’ work withdrawal. Design/methodology/approach This paper tests its hypotheses by means of a field study of a sample of front-line health care workers in China. Data were collected in three waves over four months; a total of 398 health care workers completed the questionnaires and represented the final sample. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that mistreatment by customers contributes to employees’ work withdrawal, and emotional exhaustion serves as a mediator in this linkage. In addition, social support moderates the positive relation between customer mistreatment and employees’ emotional exhaustion, whereas conscientiousness moderates the positive relation between emotional exhaustion and withdrawal behavior. Research limitations/implications The sample used may not fully justify the generalizability of the research results. Without distinguishing different sources of social support may be another limitation. In addition, this study could be improved by using a multi-source survey design. Practical implications To help employees effectively cope with interpersonal conflict with customers, organizations should take action to promote communication between employees and their supervisors and coworkers. It is also advisable for organizations to adjust their selection strategies and hire front-line employees high in conscientiousness. Originality/value This research presents a resource-based framework to illuminate the detrimental effects of prolonged exposure to customer mistreatment on health care workers’ withdrawal behavior in Chinese context. Furthermore, this study examines factors that may serve to mitigate the harmful effects of customer mistreatment and regards workplace social support and conscientiousness as two different kinds of resources that can play dissimilar roles when employees are coping with customer mistreatment.

Download Full-text

Efficacy and Safety of Cannabidiol Plus Standard Care vs Standard Care Alone for the Treatment of Emotional Exhaustion and Burnout Among Frontline Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

JAMA Network Open ◽

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.20603 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (8) ◽

pp. e2120603

Author(s):

José Alexandre S. Crippa ◽

Antonio W. Zuardi ◽

Francisco S. Guimarães ◽

Alline Cristina Campos ◽

Flávia de Lima Osório ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Standard Care ◽

Efficacy And Safety ◽

Care Workers

Download Full-text

Does Workplace Fun Buffer the Impact of Emotional Exhaustion on Job Dissatisfaction?: A Study of Health Care Workers

Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management ◽

10.21818/001c.16553 ◽

2006 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Katherine A. Karl ◽

Joy V. Peluchette

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Job Dissatisfaction ◽

Care Workers ◽

Workplace Fun ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

Factors Associated with the Mental Health of Health Care Workers Exposed to Pandemic-COVID-19

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International ◽

10.9734/jpri/2021/v33i59a34305 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 568-578

Author(s):

Kalyani Yede ◽

Shiney Chib ◽

Ragini Patil ◽

Neha Bhatt

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Occupational Stress ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Self Control ◽

Front Line ◽

Work Pressure ◽

Care Workers

Background: Pandemic, COVID is spreading like a wild fire and it has already become a global issue. People all over the world are going through mental trauma due to the current situation of the globe. The most vulnerable situation is of the front line volunteers like doctors, health care workers, social workers who are coming in direct contact with the COVID patients and working in highly risky work environment. Since its inception in December 2019, Novel Corona Virus Disease started spreading rapidly both locally and internationally and looking to the adversity of the disease, World Health Organization (WHO) declared it has pandemic. The aim of this paper is to explore the determinants associated with the Mental Health of Health Care Workers (HCW) during the pandemic Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Questionnaire was developed having both demographic questions and questions related to mental health. Data was collected from 433 HCWs who were the front-line workers, involved directly in handling these patients. Questionnaire was classified into two parts; one included the demographic questions and the second part included questions related mental health and occupational stress. These HCW were the front line works and were more vulnerable and were having the high risk of getting affected. Percentage analysis was used to analyse the demographic data. Exploratory factor analysis was used to explore the dimensions related to mental health and occupational strength. Multi regression model was used to check the impact of emerged factors like increased workload, the continuous contact with COVID-19 patients and emotional aspects to mental health and occupational stress. Results: Value of R2 obtained was 0.778, which means, the derived factors namely Work pressure, optimism ,Risk factor, Emotional Exhaustion , Self control, Discomfort were able to explain 77.8 % of the dependent variable ‘Mental Health’. All the above factors influence Respondent’s Mental Health, as the significant the factors namely work pressure; risk factor and emotional exhaustion are directly proportional to Mental health. Work pressure is the most influencing factor among it. Optimism, self-control and discomfort are inversely proportional to Mental Health of HCW. Conclusion: Most important emerged from this study was ‘Work Pressure’. Due to the fast spread of this deadly virus, a war like situation has emerged and Health Care Workers are the most vulnerable people as they are serving the patients directly. They are sacrificing their own physical and mental health and are serving the mankind. These people deserves lots of appreciation and salutations.

Download Full-text

Frustration With Technology and its Relation to Emotional Exhaustion Among Health Care Workers: Cross-sectional Observational Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/26817 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 (7) ◽

pp. e26817

Author(s):

Daniel S Tawfik ◽

Amrita Sinha ◽

Mohsen Bayati ◽

Kathryn C Adair ◽

Tait D Shanafelt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Observational Study ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Work Life ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Point Increase ◽

Care Workers ◽

Worker Characteristics ◽

Care Worker

Background New technology adoption is common in health care, but it may elicit frustration if end users are not sufficiently considered in their design or trained in their use. These frustrations may contribute to burnout. Objective This study aimed to evaluate and quantify health care workers’ frustration with technology and its relationship with emotional exhaustion, after controlling for measures of work-life integration that may indicate excessive job demands. Methods This was a cross-sectional, observational study of health care workers across 31 Michigan hospitals. We used the Safety, Communication, Operational Reliability, and Engagement (SCORE) survey to measure work-life integration and emotional exhaustion among the survey respondents. We used mixed-effects hierarchical linear regression to evaluate the relationship among frustration with technology, other components of work-life integration, and emotional exhaustion, with adjustment for unit and health care worker characteristics. Results Of 15,505 respondents, 5065 (32.7%) reported that they experienced frustration with technology on at least 3-5 days per week. Frustration with technology was associated with higher scores for the composite Emotional Exhaustion scale (r=0.35, P<.001) and each individual item on the Emotional Exhaustion scale (r=0.29-0.36, P<.001 for all). Each 10-point increase in the frustration with technology score was associated with a 1.2-point increase (95% CI 1.1-1.4) in emotional exhaustion (both measured on 100-point scales), after adjustment for other work-life integration items and unit and health care worker characteristics. Conclusions This study found that frustration with technology and several other markers of work-life integration are independently associated with emotional exhaustion among health care workers. Frustration with technology is common but not ubiquitous among health care workers, and it is one of several work-life integration factors associated with emotional exhaustion. Minimizing frustration with health care technology may be an effective approach in reducing burnout among health care workers.

Download Full-text

Frustration With Technology and its Relation to Emotional Exhaustion Among Health Care Workers: Cross-sectional Observational Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26817 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel S Tawfik ◽

Amrita Sinha ◽

Mohsen Bayati ◽

Kathryn C Adair ◽

Tait D Shanafelt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Observational Study ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Work Life ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Point Increase ◽

Care Workers ◽

Worker Characteristics ◽

Care Worker

BACKGROUND New technology adoption is common in health care, but it may elicit frustration if end users are not sufficiently considered in their design or trained in their use. These frustrations may contribute to burnout. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate and quantify health care workers’ frustration with technology and its relationship with emotional exhaustion, after controlling for measures of work-life integration that may indicate excessive job demands. METHODS This was a cross-sectional, observational study of health care workers across 31 Michigan hospitals. We used the Safety, Communication, Operational Reliability, and Engagement (SCORE) survey to measure work-life integration and emotional exhaustion among the survey respondents. We used mixed-effects hierarchical linear regression to evaluate the relationship among frustration with technology, other components of work-life integration, and emotional exhaustion, with adjustment for unit and health care worker characteristics. RESULTS Of 15,505 respondents, 5065 (32.7%) reported that they experienced frustration with technology on at least 3-5 days per week. Frustration with technology was associated with higher scores for the composite Emotional Exhaustion scale (r=0.35, P<.001) and each individual item on the Emotional Exhaustion scale (r=0.29-0.36, P<.001 for all). Each 10-point increase in the frustration with technology score was associated with a 1.2-point increase (95% CI 1.1-1.4) in emotional exhaustion (both measured on 100-point scales), after adjustment for other work-life integration items and unit and health care worker characteristics. CONCLUSIONS This study found that frustration with technology and several other markers of work-life integration are independently associated with emotional exhaustion among health care workers. Frustration with technology is common but not ubiquitous among health care workers, and it is one of several work-life integration factors associated with emotional exhaustion. Minimizing frustration with health care technology may be an effective approach in reducing burnout among health care workers.

Download Full-text

The Effects of COVID 19 on Health Care Workers: Analysing of the Interaction between Optimism, Job Stress and Emotional Exhaustion

International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences ◽

10.17583/rimcis.2020.5849 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Şefik Özdemir ◽

Gökhan Kerse

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Job Stress ◽

Work Stress ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Care Workers

This research has focused on determining the levels of optimism, stress and emotional exhaustion of health care workers related to COVID-19 and the effect of optimism directly and indirectly (through job stress) on emotional exhaustion caused by Covid-19. The data were collected through an online questionnaire with optimism, job stress and emotional exhaustion scales arranged according to COVID-19. The data collected from 169 health care workers working in a city in Turkey were analysed using different statistical programs. The findings obtained has shown that the employees are quite optimistic in this process, and they have also experienced stress and emotional exhaustion even though their levels are lower than optimism. Also, it has been determined that being optimistic despite COVID-19 affects emotional exhaustion caused by COVID-19 both directly and indirectly through work stress. Therefore, the level of optimism in this process has reduced the emotional exhaustion caused by COVID-19; however, this decrease was felt stronger through stress. These findings have contributed to both healthcare managers and relevant official institutions, and to researches related to COVID-19.

Download Full-text